Oklahoma City Community College wants to give back this coming Arbor Day with an event that organizers say gives back to the trees.

This year’s Arbor Day event will take place in the college union foyer from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 28.

Student Life President and Chair member of the Arbor Day Committee, Erin Logan said that, while the event is about celebrating trees, there will also be some giving back to the students, faculty and staff of OCCC.

At the event there will be giveaways and if students, faculty or staff bring a minimum of 20 empty plastic grocery bags to be recycled, they will receive a free gift at the event.

There is also a carbon footprint analysis with suggestions to help attendees of the event reduce their own carbon footprint, Logan said.

“It’s our way to recognize and celebrate all of the benefits we get from trees,” Logan said.

“Our dynamic is a big supporter of Arbor Day and has been for years,” Logan said.

She said this has been demonstrated by OCCC being a Tree Campus USA certified school.

Tree Campus USA is a program that recognizes college and university campuses that effectively manage their campus trees, develops a correspondence beyond campus boundaries to foster healthy and urban forests, and strives to engage their student population into utilizing service learning opportunities centered on campus,  and community, forestry efforts.

The requirements of being a certified Tree Campus USA campus or university are substantial and can be found at www.arborday.org/programs under “Learn about Tree Campus USA” tab at the Tree Campus USA section.

Co-chair of the Arbor Day Committee, Facilities Management Director Chris Snow said the Arbor Day  event would place only the slightest strain on the college’s budget.

“The money for this event was allocated already in the budget, which was minimal, and most of it is coming from outside businesses and vendors,” Snow said.

Snow said this year’s event will be unlike Arbor Day events at OCCC in the past.

“We have a combination of students, faculty, staff, and community who participate,” Snow said, “knowing that you get a wide range of influence involving this particular celebration.”

More information about this coming Arbor Day event can be found at www.occc.edu/arbor-day/.

Information for all activities, booths, tweets, photos, and a map of where the tree planting ceremony will take place are available through this link.